By RALPH D. RUSSO
Ohio State is No. 1 and Michigan State is No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll, giving the Big Ten the top two teams in the rankings for the first time since 2006.
The Buckeyes received 40 first-place votes after a lackluster victory against Northern Illinois on Saturday. Michigan State has seven first-place votes. The last time the Big Ten held the top two spots in the AP poll was November 2006 when Ohio State and Michigan went into their annual rivalry game Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.
No. 3 Mississippi made a big jump from 15 after winning at Alabama. The Tide dropped from No. 2 to No. 12. The Rebels received 11 first-place votes.
TCU is tied for third with Ole Miss and Baylor is No. 5.
Notre Dame is sixth, followed by LSU, Georgia, UCLA and Florida State. The Tigers receive one first-place vote.
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POLL POINTS
Ohio State is No. 1 for the 99th time, passing Notre Dame for second place all-time. Oklahoma has the most weeks at No. 1 with 101.
101 — Oklahoma
99 — Ohio State
98 — Notre Dame
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CONFERENCE COUTDOWN
Two weeks after having a record 10 ranked teams, the Southeastern Conference is down to six, matching the Pac-12 for the most of any league.
SEC — 6
Pac-12 — 6
Big 12 — 4
Big Ten — 4
ACC — 3
Independents — 2
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UP
Northwestern moved up six spots to No. 17 after beating Duke on the road. The Wildcats’ opening victory against Stanford is also looking a whole lot better after the Cardinal bounced back with two straight wins, including a 41-31 upset at USC on Saturday night.
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DOWN
No. 19 Southern California dropped 13 spots after losing at home to the Cardinal.
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IN
Stanford is back in the rankings at No. 21. The Cardinal win was part of a 6-0 Saturday for the Pac-12 North, which was considered the weaker of the two divisions.
OUT
Auburn, which started the season ranked No. 6, is out of the rankings after a losing to LSU. The Tigers probably qualify as the most disappointing team of September.
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RANKED VS. RANKED
No. 9 UCLA at No. 16 Arizona. Pac-12 South contenders start knocking each other off.
No. 18 Utah at No. 13 Oregon. Utes looking to score one for the Pac-12 South over the North.
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NEW VOTER
Daniel Berk of the Arizona Daily Star has changed jobs and is no longer voting in the AP Top 25. He has been replaced by Ryan Finley from the Arizona Daily Star.
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